For Families & Patients

NewYork-Presbyterian

The Center for Youth Mental Health

formerly the Youth Anxiety Center

Patient Stories

Woman searching for direction

Scared

“Things got really scary during my senior year of high school after I was accepted at college. At first I was happy, but then started to feel sick.”
Man mapping a maze in the brain

Lonely

“OCD-type anxiety is a very lonely illness. Your mind turns in on itself, endlessly deliberating over every thought and task you encounter.”
a man cleaning a glass tabletop

Fired

“I’m 23 and living at my mom’s house because I can’t hold down a job. I got hired right out of college, but then my anxiety flared up and I constantly thought about being infected with germs.”
perfectly lined peas

Perfectionist

“Throughout my childhood I was a passionate overachiever. From a very young age I struggled with being a perfectionist, as well as with anxiety and depression, but they were not major factors in my day-to-day life.”
a man walking a tightrope

Struggling

“I was an honors student back in high school, and my college prospects were promising. But now, six years later, I’m still struggling to finish community college.”
a young woman looking forlorn

Speechless

“I am 24 years old and just finished my master’s degree in health-care administration. I am doing well now, but I have had a lifelong struggle with anxiety that at times made me wonder whether I would ever make it.”
person picking at their nails

Procrastinator

“Anxiety is more often than not self-inflicted. I procrastinated in writing this piece until the last minute, regardless of the fact that I couldn’t wait to write it.”
young man standing near a group of teens

Lost

“While on the outside others might think that I’m doing pretty well for myself, inside I feel like I can’t do anything right and will never be good enough.”

young woman thinking

Worried

“I'm a worrier. When I was a kid I used to have a hard time being away from my parents and I'd think about all the horrible things that might happen to them.”
a young woman grooming herself in front of a mirror

Obsessive

“All girls worry about what other people think of them, so for a long time I didn’t know my thoughts were any different from anyone else’s.”

Center for Youth Mental Health

(formerly the Youth Anxiety Center)